|
Listen to article
|
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, in a ruling handed down on Wednesday, mandated that the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission take immediate action by providing formal employment letters to over 22,000 police constables who have been awaiting official recognition in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Alongside its directive for employment letters to be issued, the court also ordered the defendants to pay the constables the salary arrears they are owed, which have accumulated over the past four years, stretching back to 2021. This financial obligation, which has been a source of hardship for the officers, is now to be fulfilled as per the court’s ruling.
The court’s ruling specified that the sum of N54,566 should be paid to each constable on a monthly basis, spanning from January 2021 through May 2024. This precise calculation reflects the amount owed to the constables, and the court’s directive is aimed at fully compensating them for the period during which they were denied their rightful earnings.
Justice Rakiya Haastrup delivered the judgment in the case filed by the constables against the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission, directing the payment of the owed arrears. The suit, which was legally represented by Senior Advocate Senastine Hon, aimed to address the long-standing issues of unpaid salaries.
Beyond the payment of outstanding salaries, the judge mandated that formal letters of employment and certificates of engagement be issued to the constabularies. These individuals, who had already undergone training and been supplied with uniforms and boots, were also lawfully stationed in various states across the federation, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
The plaintiffs, who were trained and engaged in community policing through intelligence gathering, had through their lawyer sued the police for refusing to pay them their monthly stipends despite making them serve the nation for the past four years.
Contrary to the claims of police that the services of the constabularies were voluntary, the plaintiffs claimed and tendered documents showing that, at the time of their engagement, the police had agreed to give them monthly stipends commensurate to the basic allowance of a constable in the Nigeria Police Force.
The constabularies alleged that the action of police, in denying them the stipends, was not only lawful but had put their lives in jeopardy as they could no longer meet with basic needs of life.
They, therefore, urged the court that having been lawfully engaged by police, they were entitled to the monthly stipends to enable them to perform their duties effectively and diligently.
They also claimed that due to the hazardous nature of the jobs, seven of their members had died.
Read also: Please Join The Nigerian Police, Enugu Govt Begs Youths
In her judgment, Justice Rakiya Haastrup agreed with Hon that the plaintiffs established that there is a contractual agreement of employment relationship between them and the police.
The judge held that “based on the agreement, the plaintiffs were entitled to the monthly stipends for their job.”
Justice Haastrup, while observing that the exact amount to be paid as stipends was not fixed by the police, held that the plaintiffs were entitled to the basic allowance of N54,655 monthly pending when the IGP will fix their monthly allowance.
Besides, the judge ordered the IGP to fix the amount due to the plaintiffs within two months of delivery of the judgment.
The judge ordered that the “Constabularies be issued with letters of appointment having trained them, equipped them, issued them with uniforms and identity cards and deployed them to the states of the federation and the FCT.”
Responding to the judgment, Hon appealed to President Bola Tinubu to order the IG to pay the constabularies owing to the services they rendered to the country.
